Extract

In 2010, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) provided substantial updates to its seasonal influenza vaccination recommendations.+1 Routine influenza vaccination is now recommended for all individuals 6 months or older. Because routine vaccination in infants younger than 6 months is not recommended, how can these vulnerable young children be protected? The answer, as it turns out, is simple and does more than protect the infant: maternal vaccination during pregnancy. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) supports CDC's recommendation for the routine vaccination of pregnant women against influenza.+2 Administration of the influenza vaccine during pregnancy has been shown to protect both the mother and infant from influenza.